Health club, retail set for old car lot near Children's

Jim Weiker, The Columbus Dispatch

Tuesday

Jan 7, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 7, 2014 at 1:04 PM

A three-story health club and retail center is rising at Parsons and Livingston avenues, furthering development of the Nationwide Children's Hospital neighborhood on the East Side. The 37,000-square-foot center, called Village Pointe, will feature a health club on its top two floors and a hair salon, deli, full-service restaurant and other retail ventures on the first floor.

A three-story health club and retail center is rising at Parsons and Livingston avenues, furthering development of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital neighborhood on the East Side.

The 37,000-square-foot center, called Village Pointe, will feature a health club on its top two floors and a hair salon, deli, full-service restaurant and other retail ventures on the first floor.

The $5 million project is under construction and is expected to be completed in June, said Jeff May, the developer.

May is the owner of Bobb Automotive, formerly Bobb Chevrolet, which moved from the site to W. Broad Street in 2008.

Since then, a CVS pharmacy and a Scrambler Marie’s restaurant have opened on the former car-dealership site, where the Village Pointe building is being constructed.

That might not be the end of the development for that site.

“There are still about 3 acres in the back of the property,” May said. “We’ve looked at a few different things there, but nothing definite yet.”

The star of the new building will be the 25,000-square-foot Fitness Loft, a health club run by May’s son, Jeff May Jr.

The health club will feature cardio and weight equipment that records individual workouts, allowing people to track their progress at the gym or from a remote location.

May expects the club and the center’s other tenants to cater to the hospital’s 9,000 workers, along with neighborhood residents.

Bob Leighty, executive director of the Parsons Avenue Merchants Association, said May’s investment complements a new library planned on Parsons Avenue and the redevelopment of the nearby Barrett Middle School.

“Think about the change all this represents,” he said.

May agreed that Village Pointe is part of a broader revitalization of the Livingston/Parsons neighborhood.

“I’ve been on that corner for 30 years, since 1983,” he said. “I’ve seen in the last five years a tremendous amount of change for the better. There’s a lot of momentum down there.”

jweiker@dispatch.com

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